Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-10-15
\ CYLINDRICAL PROB ECT.

Inc h0lgnts OF LaDoT, III appears,
are warranted in the Use of the fantas-
tic Quixotism in their title by their
superior courtesy to women, since
the. order il said 10 be the only organ
ization in the world that receives
women on terms of perfect equality.
According to the report of Mrs. Barry,
the general investigator of the order,
there Is room for a large revival of the
spirit of knight-errantry that received
its coup de grace ut the hands Of Ger
vsntes IN the inimitsble humor OF
Don Quixote." The treatment OF
girls who work in or for factories In
the large centers of population is some
thug unknown in the west, aud the
mere pittance in compensation they
receive incredible In this land of good
wages. IL Is such that au honest
woman can hardly keep body and soul
together by the poorest and cheapest
food. Mrs. Barry proposes the in.ti-
tuition Of cooperative enterprises, par.
ticulsrly in manufacturing mems,
women's aud children'- garments, to
which the order shall devote its enrr
gies 10 fostering and building up.
some such plan would he quite FEAST
bic, provided it, support were guaran.
teed by the entire patronage OF the
order itself and its friends. But any
attempt 10 control the curse Of trade
by any other than the laws Of supply
and demand and survival Of the %fit'est
namely the best that can be bought az
the lowest price has always hitherto
been a signal failure. IL would need
excellent business management aud
thorough commercial training 20 COM
pete with, for Instance, the wholesale
establishments where ready made gar
ments are manufactured almost en-
tirely 10y women At starvation wages.
Tue margin Of profit IN that brssch OF
trade j. extremely small. IL needs
close buying in the lowest market,
minute and careful supervision of de
tail and tact in the disposal OF the
goods to make 1t pay. the Knights
Of Labor, to a%uIeliorate the condition
Of working women, would have To pay
them living wages-an increase Of cost
ia a most important item, and the
chances are that the cooperative
knight Of LsbOr store could never
compete with the ordinary retailer.
The discipline of the order would have
to be powerful indeed to make mem.
beers buy ut their cooperative store
what they could purchase for less else.
where. 1t would, in fact, call for tn
revival Of the knight.errsnt spirit
among members Of the order. They
would then establish their right To the
title of knight in that feature Of the
old orders Of Knighlhood that incul.
NblNh VIC Hl'AH'Al'h nlAN hfltbFf VI Tue
poor and feeble ones Of the earth at
any cost Involving personal sacrifice.
II they vet themselves to the accom-.
plishment Of this task. they will un.
dertake one that has baflled pbilan-
thrOpists everywhere for fifty years,
ever since the great centres NJ popula.
ton have become overcrUwded with
women looking to procur. work, or
obtaining it only in mere pittances,
have been driven to swell the rank. of
Jepravity. And If they shall succeed
in this task aud in some way relieve
the terrible condition Of worse than
slavery among working women that il
one Of the blots on the civilization Of
the age, the Knights Of Labor will be
entitled to the undying gratitude of all
classes.-Butte Miner.